World of Warcraft skills save boy & sister from moose attack

Gaming skills are clearly transferable to real-life situations as one Norwegian boy will tell you. 12-year-old Hans Jorgen Olsen called upon skills gained through playing World of Warcraft to save himself and his sister from a moose attack.

The two children were out walking in a forest near their home and had strayed into the territory of a moose. The animal decided to attack the intruders putting both their lives at risk. Hans had to think quickly as to how to save his sister, and brought to mind some of the skills he had learned playing the MMO.

The first skill that came to mind was Taunt, which in the game attracts the attention of a mob, but in this instance attracted the attention of the moose on to Hans while his sister escaped. With his sister then safe Hans needed a way of saving himself, so called upon another WoW skill: feign death.

By doing this in game you hope the enemy will ignore you and move off. Hans bravely tried the same thing with the moose and it worked. The animal soon lost interest and left the boy alone.

Next time someone complains that you are spending too long playing WoW just tell them it’s preparation for real-life situations by gaining new skills. If they need further convincing supply the link to this story.

As brave as Hans was, he also put his life in danger with the actions he took. The taunting saved his sister, but the feigning death could of backfired and ended in serious injury.

Although the focus here is on skills he learned in-game, I wonder what Hans would have done if he’d not played WoW? Or if he was into more violent games, would we be reading about a 12-year-old moose killer right now?